Chapter 36

It took some time until everyone was at their place for the next test.

Draco inspected the distribution.

Twelve people stayed for the enchanting test.

Six rune carvers, including the goblin.

Four wand enchanters, including Penelope and Lupin.

Only two stood in the middle, signaling that they were capable of both, Petia and a portly middle-aged wizard.

"So, the test will go like this. To start off, everyone will get their materials. We have two different kinds: telescopes and monocles. We have them in both metal and wood versions, so you can choose your preference. And so that you don't have to inscribe the lenses if you're a rune crafter, the monocles have a corresponding frame. We will keep the test simple. First, I want you to enchant one of your materials by yourselves, either the telescope or the monocle; it's your choice. The goal is to create an effective and adjustable zooming function. Keep it as simple as you can without sacrificing clarity. Afterwards, I will present you with a rune scheme, or corresponding spell, that has a pretty good zooming function for you to copy. That is your task for the second part of the test. Whoever manages to create something more effective in the first round than is presented in the second gets a job right away and a bonus." The zooming function enchantments Draco knew were good, but they could be even better.

That's why Draco was trying to see if one of the applicants had a better version, or at least used something in their enchantment that would give Draco inspiration for an upgrade of his own version.

Draco had chosen telescopes and monocles because only using mirrors for recordings was a little inconvenient.

"You have half an hour. Begin!"

Draco wandered through the room and watched the applicants work up close.

Sadly, there were no surprises.

Admittedly, Draco had a lot of advanced knowledge... old knowledge, and new knowledge, and knowledge that wasn't even discovered yet (the muggles had been really excellent at collecting and researching)... but he had hoped to find at least a little something he didn't know yet.

Well, whatever, he would continue to keep his eyes, ears and mind open.

In the end, the runic enchantment of the goblin using goblin runes and the combination enchantment of the middle-aged wizard were the best.

The results of the others ranged from mediocre to terrible.

Draco's enchantment was actually only a little better than those of the two top performers because he combined the wand enchantment the middle-aged wizard had used with a goblin rune scheme that's very similar to the one the goblin had used.

When Draco presented them with his version for the second part of the test, the two of them made big eyes.

Especially the goblin was flabbergasted.

The middle-aged wizard was more relieved that acing the second test would be easy for him.

"Where did you get this rune scheme?" The goblin asked sharply.

"That's none of your concern. We'll continue with the second part of the test right away. Please enchant your second item either with this rune scheme, or with this spell, or if you are able with both." Draco gestured to the description with the step-by-step instructions he had displayed in the air for everyone to see with illusion magic.

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The goblin was successfully diverted and focused on his enchanting again, but he reminded himself to report to the higher-ups in the goblin nation later that a wizard had gotten his hands on a goblin rune enchantment.

Correction, at least one goblin rune enchantment that he knew of...

If there was some goblin running around giving prized goblin knowledge away to wizards, the goblin nation had to find out about it...

After the second part of the enchanting test was concluded, Draco discovered the only difference to the results of the first test was that some of the rune carvers did much better when they didn't have to create their own rune scheme.

Especially an unassuming werewolf in the rune carver group did much better in the second test, apparently he didn't know any runic language well enough to create an enchantment by himself and only knew some completed rune schemes he had copied in the past.

Of course, without announcing the results again, Draco called the other applicants back inside.

"There are only two tests left. One for the security personnel positions, which we will do last. And one for the manager's assistants, who will be responsible for organizational tasks, personnel coordination, and helping the manager with marketing and business development planning. For this, there will be another written test."

The applicants collectively sighed upon hearing Draco's announcement.

"Don't worry, only the first half consists of questions, and a logic riddle, and the second half consists of free writing. Just write a short essay about how you would develop this magic mirror business and the Magical Mirror Network or about how you would market it." Draco's words didn't lift their spirits at all.

But not everyone was grumbling; Julia Figg, for example, had stars in her eyes because this was exactly her specialty.

This time, Draco transfigured five long benches and long tables out of some toothpicks for the applicants.

He had observed what he wanted in the written test before.

This test took half an hour, with getting ready and everything else, it took more like fifty minutes in total again.

When they were finally done, it was already after eight.

Until now, Draco hadn't made up his mind quite yet about how he wanted the security personnel test to go.

It's not like he could just make them fight each other, even if he would like that.

Another thing to consider was if he wanted everyone to participate in the security personnel test or not.

If he excluded those that would get hired for other positions and those that weren't interested in 'security', he could probably make the test much crasser.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

It would also mean the other jobs would be decided directly that evening without taking up another day of discussions with his fellow interviewers and sending out letters to the applicants, informing them about their choice.

"Alright, good work, everyone." Draco said as he collected their papers, summoning them to him with a wave of his wand. "I know it was a long day, and I want to thank you all for your participation. I would like to ask you to step outside for a short while again while we discuss your performance. We will announce the results directly afterwards. So you can find out right away if we have a job for you or not."

"What about the test for the guards?" One of the werewolves spoke up in alarm, not having a good feeling about his performance in the tests up to now.

"The test for the security personnel positions will take place afterwards." Draco placated him.

When the applicants were all outside, Draco addressed his family members: "Let's wrap this up swiftly, shall we? How about we start by checking the written tests, then we can discuss every job opening individually?"

"What about the enchanters? Do you know who to take there? Sadly, I was never gifted with runes and enchanting, and can't offer any useful opinion." Ted asked curiously and lamented.

"Yes, leave it to me. I already know who to take." Draco answered.

"That's great. It looks like you are really talented at enchanting. I'm impressed, Draco." Andromeda praised. "You didn't learn all of it in Hogwarts, or did you?"

"I have access to knowledge from the future, that's how I know a lot of things." Draco adopted a mysterious tone.

Then he laughed in amusement when he saw that Ted grinned, Andromeda rolled her eyes, and Narcissa pursed her lips.

Apparently, that was something Draco told everyone who asked.

Not for the first time, Narcissa wondered what kind of game Draco was playing.

Just like Draco had thought, the only really positive outlier in the business management test, because that was what it was even if Draco called the position manager's assistant in the end, was the squip, Julia Figg.

She mentioned some of the things Draco had planned for the business in her essay, like celebrity endorsements and event marketing.

For the overall direction of the business, she recommended going international as fast as possible to take the whole global market before anyone else could develop a similar product.

There were others who did well on the first half of the management test, but Julia was the only one who impressed Draco with her essay.

That made it obvious who to hire as the manager's assistant.

Narcissa was the only one who spoke out against this decision to hire a squip, but test results were hard to refute, so in the end, Julia Figg was chosen.

There were also some arguments concerning the other positions, but in the end, Draco could get his will on everything.